OK, you guys, I want to know why so many people think sorcerers are so much better than mages. Dundee, are you there? Coolness doesn't count.

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Lady Galadria,Goddess\' Equal of the O.R.T.; [img]\"http://havak.db-forge.com/portraits/bitmaps/wlf180L.bmp\" alt=\" - \" /><br />\"Romance at short notice was her specialty.\" - Saki <br />Founder of the IW Branch of the Anti-Anomen Society

Most of the time, people have experience with the spells before going over to a Sorcerer.

You'll probably find yourself using no more than 5-8 distinct spells of each level anytime during your mages career. This is the secret behind Sorcerers.

You can cast any of the spells you know at ANY time under any circumstances as long as you have the "castings" left to do so. Much like the Channeler in Tome of Magic. There are many spells in SoA that i would consider "fluff" spells, such as Sleep (everyone saves against this!), the extremely short duration Mantle spells, most of the elemental summoning spells (that 3-round concentration with 15% chance of it going hostile is retarded, and they're not that strong anyway), etc. There are many spells that duplicate the effects of other spells, take for example Secret Word and Ruby Ray of Reversal. By the time you need a spell capable of removing spell protections, your Sorcerer should have access to Ruby Ray, which completely makes useless Secret Word.

There's also only a few REAL good summon spells in both SoA and ToB. Combine Greater malison with Web, then start Spider Spawning. Add in Skeleton Warriors (level 15) which are 95% magic resistant, and you have a very capable strike force. With Staff of the magi, you have unlimited invisibility and Protection from Evil, so don't pick any type of invisibility spell, or PfE. You can choose a Demon Summon if you wish, but I recommend waiting for Gate to get the Pit Fiend, there are more useful spells in the 7 and 8 range.

All in all, a Sorcerer sacrifices the versatility of spell scribing and number of spells to receive the versatility of casting what spells he/she does know at any time! And as most people will tell you, a Sorcerer can quite capably solo on Insane difficulty with very little trouble if you know what you're doing.

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He Will Win<BR>Whose Army Is Animated<BR>By The Same Spirit<BR>Throughout Its Ranks<P>Sun Tzu - The Art of War

quote:Originally posted by Kaleban:All in all, a Sorcerer sacrifices the versatility of spell scribing and number of spells to receive the versatility of casting what spells he/she does know at any time! And as most people will tell you, a Sorcerer can quite capably solo on Insane difficulty with very little trouble if you know what you're doing.

Bingo, Kaleben has given a good answer and this is indeed the gist of the thing.

Versality in spell memorisation versus versality in spell usage.

To give you one scenerio where the Sorcerer excels, I shall use my PRATI tactic as an example.

If a Mage casts a Project Image and starts unleashing his spells, it is a good tactic but wait! He still has Mirror Image memorised, Stoneskin, Spell Trigger, etc... the memorisation of these spells has limited his potential spell output. He can still deal a lot of devastation but now let us take a look at the Sorcerer.

When the Sorcerer does the same thing, he does need to worry about the presence of the Mirror Image, Stoneskin, Spell Trigger, etc... he can cast 6 Melf's Acid Arrows if he so desires, and 6 attack spells from each spell level until he exhuasts his entire spell stock. This is the magic version of NUCLEAR HELL.

Oh, and another tactic which is better used with a Sorcerer. Cast Project Image and repeatedly cast Wish until you get the option to get the option to rest and rememorise all spells. Can a Mage do this? Sure... but he does not have the luxury of casting it 6 times in a row if necessary as he most likely has only memorised one Wish; and not only that, but how many Project Images will a Mage memorise? A Sorcerer can do this 6 x 6 times assuming no equipment. Thanks to this, I have yet to press the Z button or click on the rest button in ToB with my solo Sorcerer.

Thanks, guys. I always wondered why you liked Project Image so much. To me, it was just annoying that my Mage didn't get into her own spell book.I hardly even cast Simacrulum, except at frequently reloaded battles. Can a Sorcerer get Lower Resistance? Also, you hit the nail on the head about never using most spells.

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Lady Galadria,Goddess\' Equal of the O.R.T.; [img]\"http://havak.db-forge.com/portraits/bitmaps/wlf180L.bmp\" alt=\" - \" /><br />\"Romance at short notice was her specialty.\" - Saki <br />Founder of the IW Branch of the Anti-Anomen Society

Sorcerer is a great class for people who know what spells they're likely to find and what items they're going to pick up in advance...
I suspect that if they'd been available in BG1, where a number of other spells would be more useful, this might be much more balanced.